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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Conditional AOV Accepted

I'm shocked I tell ya...shocked. Was starting to wonder if this day would come. We may soon be the new owners of a Leopard 38. The current owner accepted our conditions to fix a couple things (replace a leaking transmission cooler and fix a slipping/late engaging transmission) and so we are finally heading into new boat buying territory...we've passed the AOV hurdle and it is on to closing.

Of course as I look out the window and watch the snow fall, I can't help but think of the past years' Corona commercials with the Christmas light decorated palm tree and think...soon.

So, while we work on wrapping up a bunch of odds and ends in preparation for closing on the our boat, I'll leave you with some videos of what increasingly looks like will be our future home afloat...

Sorry if there are some distortions in the videos...YouTube's "fixer" tried it's best to compensate for my rather shaky cell phone video (yeah, it must be the phone...couldn't possibly be me).

The port hull accommodations starting in the forward berth.

From the port hull across the bridge deck to the starboard hull

The starboard hull accommodations starting in the separate shower and moving to the forward berth with private half bath.

12 comments:

Boat looks really clean....congrats. By the way, I love the "fixer" function youtube uses, I used it for the first time on my introduction video and I think it makes it look like the camera is floating. Also, where you taking the boat since you mentioned that the boat needed to be in "sail away condition"? We'll be stuck in Key West for at least 3-4 more months (not the worst place in the world to be stuck I guess.)

I find the "stabilization" tool from YouTube sometimes distorts...you can see it occasionally in straight lines...that go wavy. Still trying to figure out a lot of logistics on where we are going, but at least find cost effective location for doing some refit/repair.

Can definitely think of worse places to be stuck than the keys...like in the snow outside my window right now. ;-)

Yep, you know what they say...cruising is the art of fixing your boat in exotic locations. Of course...I don't think the east coast of Florida is all that exotic...but it is where we will start with the fixing and refit anyway...if I can find a good place to keep her for a month or two.

Well, it's much more exotic than Eagle Mountain Lake in Fth, TX, that's for sure! Of course, I'm not cruising yet, just fixing and getting some day sails in. Good luck with the refits. Looking forward to seeing the process and progress.

Congrats! I know well the routine, having gone through the same thing last winter and spring, finally settling on a 2006 Leopard 40. One of the cats I looked at was touted as being in excellent condition. I flew to FL to look at what can only be described as a turd. The pictures on the broker's sight were all old pictures - this is what tarnishes unassociated good brokers' reputations. What a waste of a thousand buck airfare. The L40 needs work, to be sure, and it is more than I saw up front, but it is a boat after all. I did not find a name for your new vessel. Fair winds.

Thanks Dave! I think you have hit on a new step on the boat classification scale: Bristol, Above Average, Average, Fair, Poor, Turd, Restorable. I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of those. And it seems most pictures on brokers sites are old...or manufacturer provided images. Hard to weed out the potentials. Glad you found one.

As for the name, the current name is Breathe but that will change. Don't really like the "cat theme" names as it seems to be overdone. Still discussing our options there.

...That's the plan anyway

With no sailing experience and coming from a land-locked state, we intend to give up successful careers and embark on a more minimalistic and lower impact lifestyle living on a sailboat. Come along as we attempt to sail away from the rat race.

About Me

I'm an ex-software engineer living with my wife and two spoiled dogs. I hold a private pilots license and in the past owned a small, single engine aircraft. My wife and I are both PADI certified open water scuba divers.
When we started this sailing adventure, other than being passengers, we had no experience on a sailboat. We've taken sailing lessons through the ASA programs in both Colorado and Florida. In December 2013 we purchased our floating home, a 1999 Leopard 38, and in April of 2015 we sold our house and moved aboard.